Tag: hobby

Regulatory hurdles in my model rocketry hobby

Santino G.

To regulars of this blog, long elaborations of radio-controlled (RC) plane failures ring a familiar tone. While much of my free time is indeed spent in such endeavors, there is an additional hobby of mine that I have barely discussed and yet has successfully consumed most (if not all) of my leftover leisure: model rocketry. This isn’t by accident, of course. There is very little to write about due to regulations preventing my procurement of a launch site, something that’s sort of necessary to have. Here, I collate some of the frustrating processes I have undergone in hopes that someone … Continue reading Regulatory hurdles in my model rocketry hobby

Conquering flight: Claudius (Part 9)

Santino G.

One problem has pervaded all of my previous RC planes: weight. While I have been trying to minimize this one parameter in every plane since Augustus, it was only after I flew my third RC plane, Caligula, that I understood a more aggressive approach was necessary. This blog describes the construction of my fourth 3-channel RC plane, Claudius. Beginning with the fuselage, I maintained the same design used on the previous two; that is, foam board cut and folded so as to feature a square cross-section. It was, however, slightly shorter than Caligula’s. (This wasn’t an intentional decision; I simply … Continue reading Conquering flight: Claudius (Part 9)

Conquering flight: Caligula (Part 7)

Santino G.

Poor safety protocols caused the demise of Tiberius. Nothing else. Therefore, when building its successor, I didn’t deviate very far from the original design: It still had the Aeroscout motor, streamlined rudder, and ample surface allocated to the flaps. This blog briefly describes the construction process I followed when building my third 3-channel RC plane, Caligula. If more detail about the build is desired, my previous blog elaborates on the process for Tiberius. Starting with the fuselage, I cut foam board into the shape of a square prism and reinforced the inside with packaging tape. To extend its length, I … Continue reading Conquering flight: Caligula (Part 7)